There was a lot of heel-clicking and politeness and he went. George signalled to the barman.
“Well, Miss Kolin,” he said when they were served again, “what do you think?”
“I think that the Captain’s various appointments are almost certainly with his mistress.”
“I meant do you think there’s anything in this. You know this part of the world. Do you think he’ll do what he said about contacting this woman?”
She shrugged. “I think that for a hundred dollars the Captain would do almost anything.”
It took a moment or two for George to appreciate the implication of this statement. “But the Captain’s not getting the money,” he said.
“No?”
“No. That’s for the wineshop woman, if she comes through with the information.”
“I do not think he will give her a hundred dollars. Perhaps twenty. Perhaps nothing.”
“You’re kidding.”